Shakespeare takes the field

Associated Press

Published 11:41 pm, Thursday, September 18, 2014

Boston

Five centuries after William Shakespeare wrote "Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown," the Boston Red Sox have been deposed as World Series champions, bouncing from last place to first and again to the cellar in a shift from tragedy to comedy that even the revered playwright would appreciate.

And so, as they head into yet another winter of their discontent, the Red Sox are turning Fenway Park over to the Commonwealth Shakespeare Company to bring a bit of the Bard of Avon to the former home of Josh and Daniel Bard.

The curse of "The Scottish Play" and "The Curse of the Bambino" will be as one on Friday night when the troupe performs a sort of Best of Bill, featuring 10 classic scenes in the ballpark that has always been more Big Papi than Joseph Papp, more Green Monster than "green-ey'd monster," more Carl Yastrzemski than Henry VIII.

"Where else would you want to do Shakespeare than in Boston's most hallowed and treasured ground," artistic director Steven Maler said. "He wrote as easily comedy as he did tragedy; the Red Sox seem deeply versed in both."

Since John Henry bought the franchise in 2002, the Red Sox have tried to expand Fenway's portfolio, using it to host movie nights and hockey games and Springsteen concerts. The "lyric little bandbox" lauded by John Updike will be the first in the major leagues to host a Shakespearean performance, Maler said.

"Theater doesn't belong inside these curtain-draped, plush-seat experiences were you have to pay 100 bucks to walk through the door," said Maler, whose company usually performs in the Boston Common. "Shakespeare was a very populist writer during the day. We'd like to bring that vitality and that roughness back to the work. So it's a perfect venue for us."

Shall I compare the Red Sox to a Shakespeare play?

What blood lingers longer: The stain on Lady Macbeth's hands, or the one on Curt Schilling's sock? Which was the true Comedy of Errors, the Shakespearean farce or the Buckner World Series? To pull Pedro, or not to pull Pedro?

Why was that even a question?

"Comedy, tragedy, history. It's all-in-one. The most theatrical stories in the most fitting place," said Kerry O'Malley, who will portray Olivia from "Twelfth Night" on the field where she has sung the national anthem and danced for a Red Sox title. "I don't want to go overboard but it's like sacred space for me. It's my favorite place on earth. I love it so much."

Maler said the idea for Shakespeare at Fenway was proposed by then-Mayor Tom Menino a few years ago and warmly received by Red Sox president Larry Lucchino, who said in a news release to announce the event: "All the ballpark's a stage, and all the men and women merely players."

"Glee" and "Yes, Dear" actor Mike O'Malley — a Red Sox season ticket-holder — is the headliner, along with his sister Kerry and Neal McDonough ("Suits," "Desperate Housewives," "Band of Brothers").